for the life of me I cannot find the post by a member (i forget who) who recommended Warman pickups....well..I just ordered a 3 set for my strat over the wilkinsons, cant wait to get them. oh and Josi Warman is one helluva decent guy!

I have used their humbuckers, Sarge. I tried them in my Hondo Les Paul which is a heavy solid wood thing with a full maple cap. The pickups were very strong but not bright enough for my taste. I ended up using lower impedence Dimarzio and Duncan in that one.

I took the Warman's out and put them in a "cave top" chambered Les Paul and they were great in that. Nice and bright and crunchy.

They were really cheap as chips and I would use them again, but not in a heavy weight Les Paul.

I cannot speak for or against the single coils.

Edit - I have just remembered that I have used their telecaster neck pickups a few times and was very happy with them.

I recently put Warman humbucker sized P90's in my Epi LP Studio. They sound fantastic! I'm now toying with the idea of putting their Texas Triple Hot's single coils into the Concord II.How did you make out with your transplant?

Funnily enough I was playing with them not 2 hours ago....not for long mind, they are puny in comparison to the Iron Gear Pig Irons and moreso against the Ironstone Platinum set I have in both my Condord II's

I only went for the billy-basic SC set of warmans at the time, they do sound nice, very nice but oh so quiet, 3 and 4k IIRC.have been tempted by his texas hots in the past, but I think I've found a liking for alnico over ceramic....especially in single coils.I noticed he has a set of Texas Mellows!....god knows...

if I had to recommend a set....I would go with the Ironstone Platinum set http://www.ironstone-pickups.co.uk/electric-guitar-pickups/stratocaster-guitar-pickups-Alnico-V-platinum-grade

I'm a big fan of the GFS products, and I've seen good remarks here about Toneriders and the Ironstone/Gear...bottom line though, as you know, I am a cheap bastid. Wilkinsons are calling me. (The Alnico V versions from Korea, not the Chinese stuff)

And since I'm not going to be gigging this thing, just playing for my own amusement these days, I'm looking for (very) reasonable cost outlay. The guitar only cost me about $140 eh?

Doesn't make sense to me to drop about the same again on pups. Plus shipping, etc.

Just had a little play with the Concord (after having cleaned out the oxidation in the switches) It's been a hell of a winter, and yet more @#$%^& snow coming tomorrow along with sub zero temps!AL Gore can BITE ME! BITE ME HARD!!

*Ahem*I've come to the conclusion that I kind of like the sound of the original pups. What I do not care for is the flippin' microphonics!Bloody pups howl like crazy, and I'm twisting like a weather vane trying to find the quiet spot! Annoying as hell.

So-o-o I'm still undecided as to whether or not to replace them. They're loud enough for what I'm doing, so that's not an issue. Perhaps the focus needs to be on a potted set instead??

one thing I noticed with my '82 CII's original pups was that the magnets were so weak, they really struggled to hold a paper clip, maybe that had something to do with their low and flat lifeless output?!

Had another look at the Ironstone site and played some clips...nice.But the buggers don't offer black covers, only white and cream.

I don't think new white on (aged) white is gonna look that good and I'm not buying additional covers for them. And again, htey're gonna cost me about CAD$55, plus shipping...not quite in cheap bastid territory. That's almost half of what the guitar cost me!

jimmydime wrote:I'd be happy to record the set I have, just not sure on how to post the results.

I was also checking out some of Bezdez parts and noticed that the shipping has gone to the point of rideculous. I've never had much success with the stuff I've bought there.

As with pictures, you'll need to host the sound clip elsewhere then link to it.As for Bezdez, if you read my link reference above I'm not surprised that you're not impressed. The guy's a total A-hole. Canadian too. More's the pity.

I've a set of Darkstar's that were changed out of a guitar(335 style) as they sounded err,, too dark!!Probably sound ok in a maple bodied guitar.

I have the Entwistle HVX set in my Spectrum DX. I like them a lot. This set is not dark at all and sound great clean.That being said they are in a solid body.

Another option I thought of is Carvin pickups.

http://www.carvinguitars.com/group/classic_humbucker_pickups

Not super budget cheap at around $50 a piece, but these are nice pickups. I have a MIM fat Strat in which I replaced the super weak Fender pickup with one of these. Not sure of the model number but it is smooth and powerful. I hardly bother with the single coils at all because the Humbucker is so good. It is also coil split.

I will work on getting a couple sound clips recorded. Where do you guys upload sound clips too?

I finally made an executive decision...I ordered a set of Warman Triple Texas Hots. Should get 'em in a week or two.

'Had a look at everything suggested (thanks again everyone) but the Warman's were selling for very reasonable money, plus I've had very good service from them, so in the end, it was a no-brainer.

They appear to be well built, and potted, and with a higher output than the Mats originals, so they have to be a step up. I'm particularly looking forward to getting rid of that bloody hum!

I actually did order a set of Wilkinsons from a Chinese company that I've dealt with before (Guitar Machine). But it all went pear shaped when their PayPal account was unable to accept payments. Not a good sign. Usually means they've been cited by eBay for some sort of violation, probably counterfeiting or copyright infringement.

I gave up after the 6th attempt to contact them. Life's too short and I have to get new pickups into this guitar before the arthritis makes it completely impossible to play it!

Look forward to your opinion of the triple hots Barry, I just bought (or more accurately the missus bought) another CII so will be looking at yet another set of singles to go in it, I want it different again from my other 2 CII's and these could be a contender, I await your thoughts

Will do Pete. I'm not expecting them for awhile though. The last order took a month to get here for some reason, so I'm not holding my breath.

I expect there will be a dramatic change in output and clarity, but the thing I'm most looking forward to is a quiet output! I'm a P90 guy, and used to a hum, but these mats pups are buzzing like a swarm of killer bees.

The Warman Texas Triple Hots arrived today; only 5 days from the UK, excellent! (My first order for Humbucker P90's recently, got lost or something. Took a month!) Josi is a great fellow to deal with. Recommended.

Took the Concord to the shop yesterday, expecting a light day and I could work on it easier on a proper workbench, instead of the kitchen table.Instead, I had seven repairs!

Every time I sat down to catch me breath in walked another one! I finally did manage to get to it about 5:30 in the afternoon. Warman pups are finally installed and sound very good on a quick check (can't spend too much time on my own stuff there)

This morning at home I restrung her with some fresh vintage Nickel D'Addario 9's. I'll give her a proper thrashing later today, my wife works from home so I have to be somewhat considerate. Also the weather is finally changing and looks like the frigid temperatures are going to retreat some. If it turns tolerable I'll take some new shots outdoors.

Good good, would you say they're louder than the originals? My pig irons are a little quieter but so much more articulate, the Ironstone platinum set are a touch louder than the originals and much more lows, so I'm hoping the warmans are louder still with a nice crunch, I look forward to your further reports.

My new birthday blue arrived yesterday with a broken vol pot and a warped scratchplate, hot water and a few clamps are in order, pics to follow at the weekend.

Sgt. Vimes wrote:Good good, would you say they're louder than the originals?

Just on the first quick test, yes. Also a much fuller sound...and QUIET! Still haven't been able to plug her in for a proper workout, and the damn weather is still not cooperating. It's still cold overcast and windy, so no pix.

Sgt. Vimes wrote:...seeing as there is very little room to raise or lower the pups on the Concord II, adjustable poles seems a good idea, both the Artec's have em, warmans don't.

True, it is a bit tight, staggered poles on the Texas Triple Hots.

But I'm not experiencing any more difficulty than normal when playing, um, keeping in mind that I tend to beat hell out of the centre pup 'cuz I'm 2-pup rhythm kinda guy. That, and when I set up single coils I drop the bass side and raise the treble a little.

As for the sound, well! What a difference! Even through my little 5 watt VOX amp that I use almost exclusively both at home and in the shop on the bench, it is full, with lots of punch, and surprisingly warmer than I was expecting with their ceramic magnets. Considering that I was not looking for "loud" but more clarity and punch, as well as removing that irritating buzzing, I would say these fill the bill beautifully, without breaking the piggy bank.

I can stand facing directly into the amp from 2 feet away with no noise at all! Fantastic.I was actually having fun again and rediscovering what a great little guitar this is to play. Wish I'd done this years ago. Thanks to Damian for grumping about how pissy the originals were. That's what got me to thinking in the first place.

Well now, this has thrown a spanner in the works!I took in a mint condition Burns Nu-Sonic Player series tele style last night (cheers Steve!) and the tri-sonics in it are sublime, everything I want in a single coil, also the HB in it is outrageous, so now....I'm thinking about a set of the newer mini Tri-Sonic pups for the blue CII, only...where to find a set?anyone here have a set going spare? or know where to get some?